Bomb squad called in after discovery in Lincoln Park apartment

The entranceway to Beaver Brook Gardens where on Sunday tenants were evacuated for eight hours after the Morris County bomb squad was dispatched to the apartments.

LINCOLN PARK - The Morris County Prosecutor's Office has announced that several agencies, including the county bomb squad, converged upon a garden apartment on Comly Road on Sunday where a quantity of weapons were recovered and subsequently rendered safe.

What those weapons are remains part of the mystery that has intrigued residents of Beaver Brook Gardens since two buildings were evacuated for hours on June 1 until almost midnight.

Residents had heard that a now-deceased "hoarder" at the 450-unit apartment complex may have had one or more grenades as well as chemicals that caused someone cleaning the rental unit to call the police out of concern for safety.

The press release issued this afternoon by acting Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and Lincoln Park Police Chief Mark West does not specify what was inside that apartment, but says that "weapons were recovered and rendered safe."

The release further states, "At this time, criminal charges have not been filed and the matter remains under investigation."

Earlier today, neighbors of the deceased man - also described as a model tenant - wondered aloud about what he had in his apartment that brought the Morris County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad yesterday and forced residents to be evacuated.

Facing a grassy area set up with grills for the tenants' cookouts, his apartment in Building L of this 450-unit complex is quiet today - no sign of yesterday's commotion as the bomb squad combed the unit assessing the danger from possible explosives. Today, the birds were chirping, flowers were blooming, and neighbors managed to smile as they spoke of the incident.

Jude Flori, the property manager at the complex off Comly Road, tried to clear up some misconceptions that had arisen by stating that while it's true the tenant has died, that happened last week and at a hospital, not at his home.

"He left his belongings to someone in his will, and when they were cleaning out his apartment, they found something suspicious and called to have the police take a look," Flori said.

Flori is glad that the authorities got involved in making sure that there was no danger to tenants, but she also said it's possible that whatever was found was not a hazard. She said the man was a veteran and tended to hoard things. He could have gotten a deactivated grenade at a flea market, but due to the uncertainty, the police had to be called, she said. He had lived in the complex for more than 20 years.

Not the entire complex, but buildings L and M near the in-ground pool had to be evacuated for a few hours, and the borough opened its PAL building to accommodate residents, but many stayed with neighbors in other buildings. By 11:30 p.m., following an assessment by local, county, and state officials, the residents were told they could return home.

For some, it was a long day.

"About 3:30 they said, 'Get out.' A cop came to the door and said, 'Grab your dog (and go),'" Carol Petty told Suburban Trends. The evacuation, initially only supposed to last for about an hour, was prolonged, and residents also found the evacuation area extended, she said.

Some people were in the pool when evacuation order came, which was particularly inconvenient. In addition, a visitor, Maria Nikolayew, found herself unable to access her car in the parking lot.

"I happened to visit a friend, park the car, and the next thing I know everybody was running," she said.

A prior resident of Beaver Brook Gardens, she said, "I lived here for nine years. I haven't seen anything like that."

Carol's son, Dean Petty, noted that even a day later, neighbors are still not sure what happened.

"We got locked out for about eight hours. We walked around gossiping. We were ... kept in the dark," Dean said.

Dean suspected that the deceased man had stored some grenades and various chemicals, which together fueled the concerns of authorities.

"All we know is they found because he was a hoarder and had liquid and chemicals that were unknown, that they took all the precautions that they could," Dean said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the incident including the Lincoln Park Police Department, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Homeland Security Unit, the Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad and Criminal Investigations Section, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.